In response, provincial health authorities have warned of the possibility of
a deadly SARS outbreak this spring if people let their guards down.

Though no new cases of SARS have emerged in South China's Guangdong Province,
several restaurants have been caught selling wild animals, including civet cats,
according to Guangdong Health Department.

"It seems that some people are determined to start eating civet cats again
since no new SARS cases have been reported over the past two years in Guangdong
Province. It's a very dangerous sign," said Huang Fei, deputy director of the
Guangdong Health Department.

The disease, which first appeared in February 2003, originated in the
province.

Guangdong banned the raising and feeding, sale, butchering and eating of
civet cats in January 2004. The animals were regarded as a delicacy prior to the
disease's outbreak.

The move effectively halted the spread of the SARS virus, Huang said.

However, a crackdown this year on the illegal sale of wild animals at
Guangdong's restaurants yielded one live civet cat, 14 frozen civet cats and
ferret badgers as well as 22 kilograms of frozen civet cat meat from 18
different animals.

Restaurant inspections

Health inspectors had investigated more than 11,700 restaurants from January
16 to February 6.

All the offenders had to pay up to a 30,000 yuan ($3,800) fine, and some were
ordered to stop operations until they were able to work within the scope of the
law. "The result was within our expectations because we had received reports
from the public about people illegally selling and eating civet cats this year,"
Huang said.

The last time live civet cats were found was at the end of 2004, when a joint
action involving the Ministry of Health and the Guangdong Health Department
netted some animals.

The health enforcement team will continue to carry out inspections throughout
the province until February 16.

To encourage the public to report the illegal sale of wild animals, the
authorities have doubled their reward for verifiable information to 1,000 yuan
($128.6) from 500 yuan ($64.1), Huang said.

Luo Huiming, director of epidemic institute under the Guangdong Center for
Disease Control & Prevention, also reminded people to keep alert for new
SARS cases.

"It's hard to predict whether a SARS epidemic in Guangdong Province could
emerge this spring since the disease's cause remains unclear, but the
possibility of a new breakout should not be ruled out," Luo said.

However, due to the many preventative measures that have been taken and the
province's monitoring system, "the risk has been reduced compared with 2003 and
2004," Luo added.

He suggested that people who had been in close contact with civet cats to see
a doctor if they experienced a fever and a cough within a week's time.